


The Art of Flying

by dragon_wish



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: BAMF Hinata Shouyou, POV Outsider, Secrets, Wings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-01-26 10:50:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21372931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragon_wish/pseuds/dragon_wish
Summary: Hinata behaved a little... odd. Different?Was there a reason? And had there always been so many birds in this area?
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 48
Kudos: 327





	1. Searching

The day hadn't been horrible so far, no not at all.

It had actually been pretty nice. 

Yachi hadn't missed the bus, hadn't accidently stepped into the puddles still remaining from yesterday's rain, hadn't forgotten her bento, hadn't run into anybody and had to apologize, wasn't late for club or class…

And then… between lessons, one of her classmates asked her about her hairband. Singular. Yachi felt as if the world was losing its colour. As her classmate slowly distanced herself from her with a confused look (probably wondering what was wrong with her), Yachi sat as still as she could. As if the truth wouldn't be the truth until she began moving again. But she had to check. Perhaps the other girl just hadn't seen the second hairband from the angle she had looked, perhaps her classmate had a disease which caused her to partly lose her eyesight, perhaps-

A hand touched the empty side of Yachi's head, where the hairband should have been. Who touched her?! Oh, it was her own hand - of course…

It really wasn't there!

Why did that happen? Did she lose it? Where? It could be everywhere by now! It could be on the ground somewhere, unnoticed, never to be found again, only centuries later, someone would find it thinking it was worthless, because it would be decaying already, and it would have lost its shining surface- or it wouldn't, and the sudden light reflecting would attract aliens, who wouldn't have found the last survivors, if not for that hairband, and-

"Yachi-san, what are you doing here?" 

The world began moving again, time started, colour came back - and there stood Hinata. Shining as brightly as he did like on most days (when he hadn't had a fight with Kageyama, or had to pass a test for the sake of playing volleyball), looking at her a little confused. A sign behind him caught her eye – Hinata's classroom? How had she walked through half of the school?!

"Hi-Hinataa!", Yachi stuttered, "I- I-"

Hinata looked unsure, "You?"

"I lost my hair-", Yachi pointed to her head, "h-hairband." Her voice shook. She noticed students looking around corners, searching for anything more interesting than school life, as if they could smell any kind of drama. She wanted to vanish so bad but lowering her head didn't make the voices in her head disappear.

"Which one?", Hinata simply asked, his voice quiet and kind, as it always was when the situation required it. "You have a lot Yachi-san, which one did you lose? Is it that one? It's that one, isn't it?", he pointed to the one still resting on her head.

"Wh-", Yachi was a bit surprised for him noticing, she could've easily switched through the day (she often did), boys don't normally notice this sort of thing, right? "Yes, it is… how did you-"

"I like them! They were especially shiny today", he laughed. "When did you lose it? This morning? I remember you wearing both during practise."

"I… think so", Yachi' voice was small, Hinata was so nice, "They were a birthday present from my mother this year, and it is my first time wearing them, and they could be anywhere right now-"

"Let me look at it probably, please?"

"…wh-what?"

"So I know what to look for!!", his usual loud behaviour and big smile back again, almost blending Yachi with their intensity.

The hairband was handed over so quickly, she didn't remember what exactly happened to her to agree without thorough thought, "Eh?"

"Done!", with the hairband back in her possession, Hinata had already started running down the hallway. "Don't worry, Yachi-san! See you later!", he yelled back over his shoulder, dodging a few students left and right.

Yachi was left in a hallway in front of a foreign classroom, totally perplexed, watching the colourful head of Hinata disappear behind the next corner. She heard a crow squawk outside the window.

~**-*_*-**~

"Why are you still outside?!", Tanaka asked the two managers, curiously standing in the door to the gym. "Did something happen?"

Yachi had slowly gotten used to the outgoing personalities of the team but being the lone focus of Tanaka-san's attention was still... "I- we-we are… I mean"

"We are looking for Yachi-chan's hairband.", Kiyoko gently interrupted Yachi, putting a supporting hand on her shoulder. "Is Hinata here? Apparently, he searched for it too."

"Who searched for what?", Nishinoya's head (and after a moment his body too) appeared from behind Tanaka, while Tanaka turned his head to roar into the gym a loud, "Hinataaa!"

Noticing the little gathering by the door, Sawamura-senpai looked outside too. "Tanaka, you already know that Hinata isn't here yet", he rubbed his temples, mumbling a quiet give me strength under his breath (yet Tanaka still winced together with Nishinoya, and slowly backed away from the door). Then Sawamura-senpai noticed Kiyoko and Yachi, "Is he with you? It's unusual for him to be late." He grinned. "Well, not late. But not early."

Yachi trembled behind Kiyoko, imagining the implications of what was said. Had Hinata searched for her hairband and missed classes because of it?! What if something happened? Did he hurt himself just because she had lost it? Had he eaten lunch?!

The sound of running feet behind them, getting louder the closer it came, made them expectantly turn around. Only two of the Karasuno Volleyball Team dashed that way, and Kageyama was already busy inside the gym, setting for the other members.

"Yachi-san!!", Hinata cried, coming to a stop in front of her, a little stirred up cloud of dust descending to the ground after him. Some crows crackled a few trees over. "I have it! It's the right one, right?!", he asked, as if he hadn't just run a distance in a very fast pace (it's proof of all the training he's got, for him to not even breathe heavily after that).

"Uwaa!", Yachi beamed, her eyes settling on the missing – well, now not anymore – hairband, accepting it back and holding it to her chest, relieved, "it is, it is! Thank you, Hinata!", she bowed for good measure (were three times enough? Perhaps one more-).

"No problem, Yachi-san! It was nothing", Hinata chimed, bashfully scratching the back of his head.

"Hinata…"

Hinata froze and slowly turned to his captain. Yachi could almost see Hinata's thought process go from "what did he do?" to "was he late?" to "oh no.".

Sawamura sighed. "Just- go change. You can run a few extra rounds later."

"Ehhh?", Hinata's posture grew hesitant, betrayal written all over him.

"But- ehm-", Yachi squeaked, (Kiyoko encouragingly nodded to her in the corner of her eyes), she could feel her face heating up, "Th-those hairbands are very important to me, and Hinata was so nice to search for me, I was the one who had asked him to help me and- please-" Yachi took a deep breath to steady herself, "He already ran here, and he hurried and- he meant good!"

Sawamura smiled (the nice one, not the one that made her want to crawl somewhere deep and never come back, but the nice, sincere one), "That's true. One extra round, then. For being late." (Months later, Yachi would sometimes think back and speculate about why Sawamura had always listened to her so easily… was it, because she had spoken her mind and didn't keep quiet? Was it because he noticed her timid behaviour and wanted to show her that nothing bad would happen, should she open her mouth to ask something? Was it because he wanted to teach her the importance of speaking up when observing a misunderstanding? Either way, she was thankful to have had such wonderfully patient and just Senpai.)

"Yes! Thank you, Yachi-san!", Hinata jumped, happy again (those mood swings would be the end of her… well, she was one to talk), and after looking the captain in the eye, he immediately ran towards the clubroom.

A sniff brought Yachi's attention to Tanaka and Nishinoya lurking at door, close to tears, while they hugged each other and looked at her. 

"They grow up so fast!"

"They do!"

"She stood up to Daichi-san!"

"She did!"

"Get back inside, you two!"

"Yes, captain!"

A crow flew over them and cooed.

~**-*_*-**~

Shouyou happily waved to the others and started to pedal his way home. After a while, he passed the highest point of the mountain in his route and he could stop his struggling the whole way up; then he steadily let his bike go faster on its own, letting gravity do its work.

Through the heavy sound of wind rushing by, the additional WUSH of flapping wings caught his ears. He wa about to reach the first sharp turn, so he leaned accordingly, trying to lose as little speed as possible. It was always a bummer, when people's simple existence got in the way of their race.

Luck was on his side that day, the street was absolutely free of anyone – and therefore a victory for him. Whooping, he gently let the bike lose speed as the slope decreased, then got the bike to stop at the side of the road. He jumped off the bike and high into the air, laughing at the protesting cries above him.

He calmed down enough to raise an arm, letting the agitated crow land on it. It ruffled its feathers, but after Shouyou tugged a little at a disheveled one, it sung a single note and returned the gesture, tugging at his windswept hair. 

Shouyou whistled back.


	2. Fetching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata's Senpais don't have it easy with him.

Where did he run this time, Sugawara wearily searched.

It was part of their training regime to sometimes team up with different people. Hinata and Kageyama were normally a perfect pair due to their competitiveness, but if things went bad they went missing for hours, yet not looking the least exhausted when they came back (the team knew they've been running the whole time, where was their stamina at anyway?).

That didn't happen that often, only from time to time, so it wasn't a big deal exactly. And when they went missing Sugawara at least knew that they went missing together. But now he stood at the reversal point – alone – and had no idea where Hinata had ran off to.

The first rule, when getting lost was to stay where you are and someone will find you. Sugawara had the feeling that it won’t work with Hinata. The possibility would be higher if he himself stayed where he was and let himself be found by the brightly haired kid.

But he couldn't just wait and not even try to search for his Kohai. Sugawara decided on a compromise: Waiting a few minutes, and then searching himself.

The first part didn't exactly work out as planned, but it did have a benefit.

Daichi had been part of the following duo that was supposed to be the next to pass the check point. The captain raised a questioning eyebrow at Sugawara's obvious solidariness and got a shrug in return. He sent Tsukishima back to the school and stayed behind himself.

~**-*_*-**~

The two captains immediately started with part two of Sugawara's plan.

"You know", Daichi sighed, "I thought it was a clever idea to not pair him up with Kageyama, so I guess it's my fault." 

Sugawara smiled sympathetically, "I won't agree nor disagree, Daichi," they changed direction, now and then calling Hinata by name, "It could have worked for all we knew. It could have worked. Just imagine..."

"Yeah, but it didn't. Teaming the two up is the best after all then. At least for the rest of us."

"You can always try to set up one of them with Tsukishima.", Sugawara considered, laughing at the unamused look Daichi shot him, "It could work. Probably."

"In your dreams, Suga", he then hesitated a little, "There should be a park around here, let's go there.", they changed direction again. "I don't want to switch them again. Those two are obviously equal in a lot of aspects, and honestly, it's not worth the trouble. I'm aware that Hinata isn't helpless on his own, but I feel better when I know that they are at least lost together."

"I thought that too", Sugawara admitted, watching a crow flying over them and then settling down.

"If the situation gets serious, Hinata can charm most people and Kageyama scares the rest away.", Daichi joked as the black bird crowed beside them.

"Mhmm, they are safe like that, true.", Sugawara snickered – then his eyes fell on a crow which hopped along the fence. Funny bird, he thought, did this neighbourhood feed them to be so trusting? 

Daichi took another turn, with Sugawara in tow, the bird followed suit. Wow, not even his uncle's dog followed so swiftly. Sugawara experimentally stopped, just to see how the crow was going react. If he was honest with himself, it didn't really surprise him much when the bird stopped too.

A staring competition with a bird wasn't exactly what he thought he would be doing today. It was quite weird; the way the bird kind of tilted its head with a little jerk to the left – a bit more – then to the right again, then turning its head to the side, quickly fluffing its feathers, but not losing eye contact... and Sugawara stared right back (without the head jerking, of course). And it really was a stare down. There wasn't anything else the bird could possibly focus on. Sugawara was the only person here… wait.

"What are you doing?", Daichi reappeared by his side, "You can't disappear too, that's not fair", he joked, noticing the staring contest, and repeated, "what are you doing?"

Sugawara was in the process to answer, when it became clear to him what he was going to say. "Ähm, you know…"

"Actually, I don't"

"Yeah…", he tried again, his eyes not leaving the bird, which hadn't stopped with the staring, even though Sugawara had looked at Daichi for a moment, "this bird is following us."

"…uhu."

"No really!"

"Okay."

"No, I mean. I'm not joking, it's-"

Daichi shook his head, "I'm not joking either. That bird started following us a few streets over, I just didn't want to seem paranoid", he paused, "or crazy."

Without any need to defend himself, Sugawara slumped down, "Thank God!", he laughed, "okay, okay. Okay." He shook his head to clear it. "So. A bird follows us. And stares."

"Stares?"

Suga nodded.

"Well then.", Daichi decided, and started walking again. Sugawara followed… the bird too. He grinned at his co-captain, "It shouldn't hurt anybody, even if it keeps doing that."

Living in the moment and feeling spontaneous, Sugawara stretched his arm out, offering the bird a free seat – the whole chivalry, including a jesting "Do you prefer a ride, my bird?". But then the bird suddenly flapped his wings and jumped the short distance from the fence to Sugawara's arm and just… sat there.

"Um.", Sugawara blinked, a little bit shocked but still not afraid, even though the crow was now close enough to pick at his eyes (should it try) or hurt his arm with its talons (well it held on, sure, but it didn't hurt at all). "Hello…" 

The craw cooed back.

Not wanting to unsettle the bird, Sugawara held his arm's position. "You're seeing this too, right?"

"Ehm." Daichi watched the two, dumbfounded. "Yeah…"

"The talons aren't scratching me. On TV they always wear those big gloves… I thought it would at least hurt a little." The crow suddenly bent its head down, as if it wanted to check that it indeed didn't scratch the boy, then straightened up and clicked its beak twice. "It understands what we are saying. It does, right? I’m dreaming."

"Perhaps it is a trained bird?"

"You're just jealous."

Daichi rolled his eyes. "I'd be jealous if Hinata would actually be the one that dedicated his being to stick with you with such determination-"

The unexpected loud cry the bird let loose startled them both into silence. "What the-" They both watched, baffled, as the bird took Sugawara's sleeve into its claw and flapped its wings, still holding on, making Sugawara take a few steps so his shirt wouldn't tear.

Daichi shrugged his shoulders. "… Follow it and nobody gets hurt?"

The crow then dropped Sugawara's sleeve, flew a few meters, then landed and squawked again.

Sugawara nodded. "Following it is."

~**-*_*-**~

"Just- leave it alone!"

Daichi and Sugawara took immediate notice of that voice. Both charged in direction of where their middle blocker had to be. The crow they had been following had been… special and extraordinary, but they had finally found Hinata, who sounded distressed, so they just had to deal with the bird later. Some things were more important.

Once again around a corner, they noticed three… boys? Men? crowding Hinata against a dead end of an alleyway. Nobody of the group had noticed the newcomers yet. The orange headed boy kept himself in a defending stance, cradling something in his arms. He resembled a little kid determined to not share his toys, which was clearly the reason why those men weren't intimidated in the slightest.

"What did he do?", Daichi mumbled. He looked at Sugawara to decide on their strategy.

"Those animals didn't do anything to you! They can't even fly away!" Hinata’s voice argued.

"They shouldn't've been where they were, then!"

"And I told you, I'll bring them with me once you let me pass-"

"Yeah?", one of them knocked something over, but Hinata didn't even twitch at the resulting noise, "But that's not how we do things here."

"And I told you again, that I don't have any money with me."

From what Sugawara could conclude, Hinata had already lost his 'afraid face' (as the team called it) and already changed to his analyzing and calm behaviour he got after that phase had passed. They must have arrived at the turning point.

"Hey!", Daichi impatiently called, making the group jump and turn to him. He ignored the smirk on Hinata’s face for now. "What are you doing? We've been waiting." The atmosphere in the alley got tense immediately , the two groups sizing each other up.

Sugawara took the few steps Daichi had done too, stopping beside his friend, and smiled (he was sure he looked friendly, but he knew it only charged the situation more – smiling was for the people who knew they had already won. "The others are waiting around the corner. You know we don't like it when you vanish without saying anything", he beckoned Hinata to come to him. 

Daichi crossed his arms – and they obviously noticed them, not that he flexed or anything – and frowned. "Hurry, before the whole team starts searching." The last part was directed at the strangers, who reluctantly stepped aside at the apparent threat, completely taken by surprise by the muscular newcomers.

Hinata hurried to them, obviously knowing that right now they only had the upper hand due to their bluff. "Suga-san!", he called, beaming up at him.

"You shouldn't vanish like that." Sugawara gently but resolutely pushed Hinata out of the alleyway and out to the open streets. Daichi was a few steps behind them, calling a "Thank you for finding our First Year!" back over his shoulder.

"Thank you, Suga-san! Daichi-san!" Hinata beamed at them. "That was awesome! You were both so GRRRR and WAAH, so cool!"

Sugawara sighed, "Yeah, didn't really think that would work, though." It usually worked on Tanaka and Nishinoya, so it had been worth a try. The bluff only had to work for them to back away.

"There was the chance for it to work", Daichi said, as he joined them. "What was going on? I don’t believe that your luck is so absurdly bad that you got into that situation without reason."

Hinata face darkened, and a slight shiver ran down Daichi's and Sugawara's spines, "They wanted to hurt him, just because they thought it was funny. They were throwing stones at the nest and it tilted, and he fell out of it and down on their side of the wall", Hinata growled, then deflated, gently looking down to his arms, "The tree he had been in was just in the park on the other side. And he can't protect himself yet, nor fly away. Poor little one." 

"Who?"

Hinata then showed them a baby bird calmly sitting in his palms. It was hideous. Were baby birds always this… unsightly?

Daichi faltered for a moment, remembering Sugawara's and his … situation from before (but a shared look with Sugawara told him not to mention it – who in their right mind would ever believe them) "Hinata… isn't it bad to touch them?", he asked instead.

"Wasn't there something about the mother not taking them back, if they smell of people?", Sugawara carefully questioned too, not wanting to upset the younger boy after he had apparently made an effort to keep the little bird safe.

"No worries, I've got him!", carefully holding it, Hinata trotted towards the park he and Daichi had mentioned before, "I have to bring him back! Will just take a moment, I promise!"

Daichi sighed, "It won't matter anyway." They watched Hinata carefully running around the corner. "I thought rescuing baby animals from street thugs only happened in stories." God all mighty.

"Hinata is a story of his own."

"I can't agree nor disagree, Suga.", Daichi acknowledged, as crows could be heard cooing in the park Hinata vanished into. He hoped their Kohai knew that there was a high possibility of the baby bird not surviving after falling out of their nest. Willpower alone didn't mean that much in the order of the animal kingdom, right? "But I know one thing for sure."

"Hm?"

"From now on," Daichi announced, his tone final, "Hinata and Kageyama won't be separated, unless it's absolutely necessary."

~**-*_*-**~

A quick look around the park confirmed it empty on the spot. Shouyou had to hurry, if he wanted to stay undetected. To ask the hatchling was a lost cause in and on itself, so… calling the parents it was. A thought was all it took to bring the message across, while simultaneously cooing at the little one.

He only waited a moment for them to arrive, one landing on his outstretched arm, the other taking place on his head since his still had to hold the hatchling with his other one.

They chirped a few notes in thanks and sent him the original location of their nest. Noting the image, they projected in his mind, he gave them a short warning (enough to flap their wings and to let him go) and took off towards the tree.

Climbing the tree handicapped, was a bit of a challenge, but had never been a problem in the long run.

Hinata fixed the nest to be in a stable position once more and placed the little one back into it. The parents settled around him and pulled his hair as a thank you, then turning their attention to their little one.

Satisfied, Hinata climbed back down. He reached the ground and ran back to his Senpais. A crow above cawed, and he sent a 'good job of fetching them’ thought back. After all, the situation had been way easier to handle with his teammates as back up.


	3. Bestowing

People think they are subtle. Except, they are not.

If one knows what to look for, it is a piece of cake.

Their captains thought, their Good Cop/Bad Cop strategy (or as Tanaka and Nishinoya called it: the Father/Mother routineTM) wasn't as obvious as it was. They must have at least once sat together and planned a pre-rehearsed way to keep their teammates under control. (And it worked, but it wasn't exactly subtle.)

Yamaguchi obviously thought he did a good job in hiding how hurt he was about being the only not-regular of the first years. (He did do a good job, with his earnest attitude, but his disadvantage was being friends with Kei – so it was even clearer and easier to notice.)

Hinata for example; that boy was the opposite of subtle… most of the time. He had his moments, Kei grudgingly admitted, but they were few. The thing was, Hinata had this thing about him, that made people ignore any abnormalities, because it was Hinata. He would divert any attention somewhere else, while still letting the focus on him.

Yes, Hinata was good in that. But just because Hinata had everyone else fooled, he hadn't fooled Kei – apparently the only one with a brain to use. Not even Yamaguchi or Sugawara, or even Kageyama (who, out of the team, spent the most time with the orange haired boy) noticed anything weird. Well, weirder.

But what kept happening was weird. Out of nowhere Hinata suddenly got things. Totally random things. It didn't make sense.

Now and then when they went to Coach Ukai's shop, where the Senpai treated them to meat buns, Hinata would just vanish for a few moments, and then come back with a piece of… broken glass. Instead of throwing it away, he held it in a way, so it would be seen, as if he wanted to show it off. No amount of teasing made him want to discard it (and Kei had tried his best).

It was not as if he stayed with one kind of object either, in a way of collecting them. No, the other time it was a single earring, then a button, a screw (this one Kei understood, Hinata needed it for those missing in his head), a shiny stone, a paperclip, the list went on.

And the others began to accept it, as if it was just a thing Hinata did. A Hinata thing. Oh, what is it today Hinata? A marble? The colour is nice.

Even Kei had stopped making weird comments, that's how good Hinata was at diverting the viewer's focus on one thing but at the same time directed it on something else, which didn't make sense, but it happened all the time-

But.

Kei still knew that something else was off nonetheless. Because Hinata had access to those things. Everywhere. Anytime. And he only got and showed them off after vanishing for a moment. As if someone gave them to him.

It would be easy to confirm his theory. To just follow him around the corner. 

But he wouldn't. Why would he? It didn't interest him. It didn't.

That Hinata talked to himself sometimes when he thought nobody could hear ("You don't say?", "That was awesome, do that again!", Be careful, that's dangerous", "I can't believe that happened!", "Stop that, I can't concentrate!", "I know, alright! I got it!") was then simply ignored. Which was now Kei's general Rule Number One where Hinata's weird behavior was concerned: It’s not worth it. Ignore it and make it seem as if you have something better to do. (But don't look as if you are running away, just don't.)

Which was the exact same tactic he used with his brother. Sounds from the TV in the living room told him right away that Rule Number One was needed. It was always so awkward talking to his brother when it was only the two of them.

Silently, Kei went to his room.

In the living room a reporter talked about an unusual growing abundance of scavengers in the local area and potential (questionable) ideas from and for the public to reduce their numbers.

~**-*_*-**~

This was a problem. Not one that could have an impact of major consequences, but not one that didn't irk him either.

And it was so embarrassing simple, it made him angry just thinking of it.

They would have a ceremony after morning practice. And one button of his school uniform had been torn off (completely with a wonderfully placed tear right in the middle of his chest) on his way to school, due to a crowded train compartment and an unfortunate placed loose thread of another students jacket… (Kei honestly didn’t want to know what had caused the rip to appear, he is mostly happy he didn’t get hurt worse, that whatever it had been wasn’t sharp or didn’t get deep enough to do more damage on his shirt or, or his chest-) (he wasn’t unsettled by it, no he wasn’t).

He could ask the girls for a sewing kit, but even if one of them had it with them or knew where to find one, he didn't know how to sew – at all. And he was man enough to admit to himself that it hurt his pride to ask that of them as well.

But there was no other solution. Haa. It irked him. So. Much. His left brow twitched.

A crow cooed somewhere over him, the sudden noise making him seek it out with his gaze-

"What are you doing here so early?"

Kei startled, caught himself, and turned his body – and he was only a little bit surprised; it was well known that the boy was one of the first people to arrive most days after all – to see Hinata, his chest heaving just a tiny bit (certainly from running all the way from the bicycle rack).

"I'm not allowed to be early?", he questioned instead.

"Tsukishima-kun~", Hinata widely grinned, stepping up to him, and Kei sensed something weird coming, "Are you excited for training?"

There it is, Kei sighed, "It wouldn't make any difference."

Hinata looked like someone, who was only at the beginning of whatever nonsense he had planned, when his gaze snapped to Kei's problem. Damn Hinata and his affinity for sparkling things – or in this case the lack thereof, "What the- why are you missing a button?", Hinata exclaimed, pointing straight at it. "Is that a tear?!"

Kei gritted his teeth, "Don't be so loud, you-"

"We do have an assembly today right? I didn't mix up the date?"

"Yes, we do-"

"Isn't that a problem then?"

"Wow," Kei deadpanned, "you're a genius. Never, in a hundred years, would I have thought of that." Though his body didn't directly face the shrimp, blatantly showing his disinterest in the conversation, Kei glanced down and couldn't deny that Hinata looked honestly concerned. He straightened and held up the disconnected button. "It is a problem. Obviously."

"Then fix it."

For a moment, Kei thought he misheard. "…what?"

"Just fix it. Needle, thread and PAUW! Finished."

"Yeah. Right." As if he would now admit that he wasn't able to. It had never been a skill he had to learn – A foolish mistake on his side, he had to admit.

Hinata must have noticed his lacking enthusiasm. "You… can't?", the smaller boy brightened, "Ask Yachi-san! I know she has a kit in her bag for emergencies-"

"No, that's-", Kei paused in his own interruption. Trying to analyze his own intention of not wanting the little manager's attention drawn upon his non-existent sewing skills, and simultaneously hiding it from Hinata, was harder than he thought. Because Hinata was an oddball alright, but when he focused on something, he did it completely with one-hundred-and-twenty percent – and unfortunately right now it was Kei himself. "That's not-"

"Oh… Oh!" Hinata reacted by jumping back, when it dawned on him too (Honestly, how could Hinata notice his crush within the same second Kei did? How or when did that even happen?), then jerked nearer again, eying him curiously. "Ooooohhh!! You-"

"Shut up!", Kei hissed, afraid of someone overhearing – Hinata's voice could carry.

Hinata laughed happily, "Don't worry! I'll hide your secret!", he gave Kei a thumbs up. "I won't tell a human soul, ever!"

Kei doubted it. Yes, Hinata could hide his own secrets just fine, he knows. But someone else's? That was something entirely different. He already pictured the awkwardness. The awkward glances. The sudden kindness Hinata would surely show him; and everybody would wonder even more if something had changed.

He could hear voices getting closer, recognizing Tanaka and Kyoko-san. He closed his eyes and started counting his breaths, when Hinata started in their direction.

He could picture the coming disaster.

~**-*_*-**~

Nothing happened. Kei had waited for his own doom crashing into him. But it didn't – somehow it didn't.

A few weeks had passed since that… encounter. And his… paranoia started to fade, just as his respect of Hinata skyrocketed. Without even a slight change in his attitude, Hinata continued with life, as if nothing had happened.

Which begs the question, why didn't he hide his other quirks the same way? Nobody would notice a single thing.

Kei hadn't told anyone about the disaster of a school uniform. Because, before he had had the chance to, the button hadn't been missing anymore. During morning training on that day, Hinata had vanished for a few minutes (yes, a few minutes, five at most, he had kept a close watch on Hinata that day), and when the team came back to the clubroom to change, his uniform had been fixed.

Hinata hadn't said anything. And so did nobody else. He had expected at least someone to tease him for his non-existent sewing skill, but – nothing.

The orange headed boy was irritatingly cheerful, and was a pain in the ass alright, and Kei still liked to rile him up because it was fun, but if anyone should try to do Hinata any real harm, they had to get through him first.

~**-*_*-**~

Shouyou smiled at another gift. It was a nice marble; dark blue, almost black – but when the light hit it just right, it gleamed. It didn't take long to figure out that they focused on the colour quite a bit, recently. He wondered why (he didn't), but it was no surprise that they tried to follow and recreate his thoughts.

Was it his fault, that Kageyama's eyes lit up when something went the way he wanted it to?

He caught Tsukishima scoffing at him and turned to show him his new treasure – because it was, did you see how dark it could be when you held it like that? Marblellous! 

Tsukishima wrinkled his nose but didn't cut him off. His buttons twinkled for a second, and Shouyou had to grin again, remembering the day he slipped out of practice. Funny, how such a simple skill could stop the proud guy, even change his attitude towards him.

Normally, being kind and smiley helped the most; yet some needed special treatment, to make them like him. In this case, sewing on a button. Perhaps the blond was a special case? Humans sure were difficult.


	4. Collecting

Natsu loved her big brother, however annoying he could be.

When she had met friends of Shouyou's for the first time, they were usually surprised by how not loud she was. As in not as loud as her brother.

Shouyou was expressive. He came too close, he smiled, most of the time – he stole light from around him, to make himself shine brighter. He was fast and often underestimated by others, and he proved them wrong every time if his mind was set on it. When other kids got tired, Shouyou was just getting warmed up.

But compared to others, he was not loud. Yes, he could scream, he could yell, he could shout, but it wasn't loud. It just was the way he behaved, that made people believe he was.

Having the privilege of being his sister, she was well versed in his bad timing too. A little noise could still be loud in moments of expected silence.

Funnily enough, he could be the entire opposite of that too. She knew that. She did. And he still scared her a bit when it came out of nowhere. His silence and quiet voice weren't everything that made him so… terrifying?... in those moments. It was as if his whole being suddenly changed. A button being pushed.

She could remember a day at the playground, when she had been very little. It had been a sunny day, a lot of kids had been there, most of the machines already in use by others. Shouyou had to stay behind at the bench with their father while she had run to the swings.

In hindsight, the kids that suddenly stood before her weren't that scary or big. But they were more in numbers, and they were mean, and she didn't want to leave the swing she had found unoccupied, and it was unfair, and they tried to push her of the swing she had been sitting on – but they didn't.

They couldn't, simply because her big brother suddenly stood in front of her, shielding her with his body. His body blocked her sight of the other children. His hand were clenched fists at his sides. He had been smaller than average even then, and the other children noticed that too, asked him what he planned to do about it – in an obvious mocking manner – and her brother stopped shaking. His posture relaxed, his hands relaxed, his head slightly tilted to one side, he asked why?

She hadn't seen what her big brother had done that day, but the children had left after a brief moment of hesitation. They hadn't bothered her since then.

~**-*_*-**~

Natsu sometimes dreamt of birds. It wouldn't be weird if it weren't for the fact that she shouldn't know what she did. The way it felt when they picked seeds from her hands. The way they ruffled their feathers. The way they sometimes hopped, stretched their heads, turned their heads to look, or how it felt when one landed on her head. It was too real to be her imagination alone, and she wasn't that interested in birds to begin with, didn't read books about them or watched movies, didn't search for them outside of the house (there were a lot of them in the trees around their house, but they were too far away and too fast to observe). They had to be memories, but she didn't know how.

She once asked her mother if she knew something about her liking birds when she had been little. Her mother had laughed and told her no, she had always been one to adore cats and I'm sure we have pictures of you and animals somewhere, give me a moment.

Natsu had curiously looked at a dozen pictures of her cuddling cat or dog toys, laughed about some where Shouyou had been captured doing something stupid in the background, and had felt embarrassed when she found herself copying her brother in the very next one.

She didn't notice the somewhat worried look her mother sent her behind her back.

~**-*_*-**~

Her brother was weird. His intentional or unintentional mood swings, his love for shiny things, his behavior overall – just weird.

In the neighborhood , he was still adored by grownups. Not only the neighbors – Shouyou could make friends with everyone. She didn't know anyone who disliked her brother. Old ladies called him an angel, because he helped them over the street or found them things they lost. Boys his age liked him because he was fast and a good addition when they played a game (after underestimating him due to his height). Girls liked him, because he didn't seem to have bad motives while interacting, and animals liked him too, probably because of the same reason.

He was an awesome person. Yet, it was his first impression on people, that was a little bit of a problem.

When her friends come over, they never see him for long (he is still as fast and abrupt as ever, never staying too long when the sun is still up, always training, improving, moving) they always look at her in a What was that way, as if she had a manual, including every explanation possible. She didn't, but she tried. And after they hadn't believed her again and again, she just went with the flow, rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders, saying "ignore him, he's weird" as every little sister was (apparently) supposed to do.

She still loved him dearly, even when she didn't show it all the time. It was easier – but that didn't mean anyone could be mean to him. Some of her friends had to learn that. Just a few weeks after starting school, she had new friends over for the first time. When she had left the room to fetch a game, she heard them saying mean things – unjustified mean things – about Shouyou, even after she interfered in the conversation and told them to quit.

Irritated to be reprimanded like that, they began to fight and ended the visit early; the game forgotten in the corner of her room. (They did come and apologize a few days later, agreeing that they hadn't been entitled to say the things they did. Sometimes after that, they quoted what she had said to them. Something along the lines of "You have no right to judge if you don't try to understand the circumstances first.")

(Apparently the word "retard" was used to label everything slightly outside of one's understanding.)

(Natsu herself had used it a few times – it wasn't that bad, right?)

(She developed a huge dislike against it from that day on.)

And what about the few, scattered feathers in her brother's room? They were for a project, he once told her. They were important, and he had to collect them over the years, and the end presentation was supposed to be a surprise, so of course she helped hiding them when she found some.

Honestly, he should be more careful.

Once, their mother found a lot of them in Shouyou's bedroom, and she had raised her voice (she never did with her, she sometimes wondered), and he had been quiet (not the strong quiet – a different quiet) and Natsu had interrupted; said it was a prank one of her friends had done. Her mother had slowly deflated and told Shouyou to at least clean the room.

(Shouyou was extra nice to her during the following days.)

She, of course, informed her friend (the same one, who she had The Fight with a few weeks earlier) of the situation, should she be asked about it. She had agreed without hesitation.

(They were best friends ever since.)

~**-*_*-**~

It took a few weeks, to work out how to move a needle correctly. It was easy to persuade an elderly neighbor to teach him how to sew. After noticing that he apparently like the art of working with a needle, and saying what a special, curious boy he was, she gift him with a few needles and textiles to practice on.

His family didn't know. Normally, everyone knew everything about everyone (especially the older ones), but because it was a "surprise for his parents" and he "really needed it to be a secret" and a bit of "please?" did the job right away.

And apparently it was a useful skill to have, as he'd found out (really, a button and a rip? That was child’s play after all the fragil crafting he had done).

Shoyou’s family loved to bestow him with their feathers. They flew into his room, left them there and departed again. It started slow, but now that more birds knew what he yearned for, they couldn’t be stopped in their desire to aid him.

The last thing he wanted to do, was to shut them out - which he would never do. He loved them too much to do something as horrible as that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so... I noticed a suspicious lack of dialog in this chapter... but by the time I realized, it was already too late... and I had a feeling that even if I added some, it wouldn't quite fit.


	5. Intimidating

Tanaka was on his way to afternoon training, when he passed Hinata's classroom. It was totally within his normal route and the shortest way from his last class to the clubroom – it had nothing to do that he liked to scare some of the cheekier first years. Nothing at all with how he once noticed them jostling precious Yachi without a hint of remorse. 

Hinata was usually one of the first in the gym, so the bright haired head of his kouhai was an even bigger surprise and stopped him in his tracks. Taking a closer look at the otherwise empty classroom he entered through the second door in the back. "Oi! What are you still doing here!?"

Apparently recognizing him on his voice alone, Hinata called out a happy "Tanaka-senpai!" without turning around (it was a bit creepy) (like in a game with the NPC talking and gesturing in the entirely wrong direction).

Tanaka loved it when Hinata called him that, but when he only had a feeling before, now he knew something wasn't quite right when Hinata still hadn't turned to him and kept looking at the blackboard like a statue. Instead of his energy driven self, this motionless version of Hinata gave Tanaka the creeps. Coming to a halt behind the sitting boy - hoping Hinata would turn around now that he stood right there… which he didn’t - Tanaka couldn't see his face. (At this point he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to anymore.)

"We had a test in Biology a few days ago", Hinata happily mumbled as if he had told Tanaka about getting better at receiving. Even from behind, he could read from Hinata's body language that the boy didn't have a smile on his face – even when it sounded that way.

(He had goosebumps.)

Tanaka laughed to cover up how uncomfortable he was. "So what? It's not the end of the semester yet, there's still time to correct it!" Yeah right, because he was so good at taking his own advice. "What was it about?"

"Avians."

"And that is…?"

"Birds."

Well, that was definitely something he didn't remember about last year. Enough of that, he had his kouhai to cheer up! He cleared his throat. "Well, even if you totally failed, you can always take the test again if you ask. Take it from me! They have to give you that chance, they aren't allowed to deny you that!"

"… -ail it."

Now Hinata spoke so low, so controlled, almost as if he was afraid of what would come out if he did raise his voice, Tanaka thought. He bent down to understand him better (still refraining to get in front of him) "What?"

"I did not fail it." Hinata's shoulders and hands on his thighs kept tensing and clenching, as if Hinata didn't know what he wanted them to do. His tone stayed monotone, "I nailed it."

"I don't understand. What's wrong then?"

The classroom suddenly seemed colder, though Tanaka could have sworn that there was no storm predicted in the weather forecast when he left his house that morning. In the somehow darkened classroom Hinata's orange hair was the brightest thing around, automatically attracting attention.

"I aced it.", Hinata pressed on. "and Sensei doesn't- doesn't believe- doesn't… I didn't cheat!" A strong wind pushed the curtains inward, the fabric evoking the image of sails of a ship, but nothing in the classroom was blown away. Crows outside the window must have been disturbed by the wind though, to make such a racket, cawing and shrieking as they did." I wouldn't!"

Unfairness, mistrust and suspicion – that explained a lot. Tanaka despised it too when people aimed it at him(Just because of his appearance, seriously?! He liked not-drying his hair, he saved so much time…). He wanted to say something reassuring, when he noticed a crow sitting on the window sill, hopping nervously from left to right, but had yet to absolutely enter the classroom. Hinata's voice drew his attention away from the bird.

"So now," he chirped, (woah, mood swings, bro) "she's putting together a new one. Which I'm going to take in a few minutes under observation. So. No harm done really," Hinata sighed, "but I'm going to miss some of practice. It's a pain. Can you tell Daichi-san that I'm going to be late? She took my phone."

What a question. Tanaka nodded, "Of course!", and with a little bit of rummaging he fished out a little snack and placed it on Hinata's otherwise empty desk (What a great senpai he was) "Something for your brain!", he mentioned as he backed out of the classroom. A short glance to the window showed him that the sudden wind had went away as fast as it had arrived earlier and that the bird from before had gone away on its own. It could have been funny should it have gotten inside the building. Well. "See you later!"

Hinata mumbled a thank you just when he left the classroom. It took only a few steps to reach the next corner and to slump against the wall for support – his heartbeat was erratic.

(What the-?!)

(What was that!)

Before he could think about it more intensively, a teacher passed him; shot him a suspicious look too (perhaps for lingering in an empty hallway after official school hours without any apparent reason) but decided to ignore Tanaka in favor of angrily mumbling about bad luck – all the while wiping bird poo of their jacket with a handkerchief. Tanaka knew about that woman, that was definitely the Biology professor who'd just accused Hinata of cheating.

Recent terror forgotten Tanaka snickered behind his hand; at least the birds were on Hinata's side.

The sun was dazzling when he stepped outside. No sign of a storm anywhere.

~**-*_*-**~

"So."

Tanaka's danger senses were tingling. He did his best to avoid eavesdropping, but he had an operational survival instinct. After all, it was Daichi' fault for having a voice that carried as good as his.

"You are telling me."

Screw it, practice hadn't officially begun anyways. Suga and Asahi had stopped setting up the net, and looked over to the entrance of the gym, where Daichi and Hinata had a kind of… stare down?! Wow, Hinata go!

"That within 2 days."

Daichi radiated a black aura Tanaka never ever wanted to be the cause of. How Hinata managed to not shrink back, was a miracle on its own. However, if Tanaka took Hinata’s strange mood the other day into account, it didn’t seem as strange anymore.

"Two of our regulars."

He noticed Yachi trying to move away from the benches to the entrance as slow as possible. Tsukishima, who with Yamaguchi in tow, just returned from the storage room with the ball cart, paused in his steps and watched the scene with a curious air – who did he want to fool with this bored expression?!

"Are late to practice."

A few birds flying by outside, painted quick moving shadows on the floor. At least something moved, with everyone playing Daichi-can't-see-you-if-you-don't-move.

"As a result of retaking a test in the same subject."

The amount of attention Daichi had achieved in just a few seconds – without screaming, without threats to listen, without even trying – was so intimidating, that Tanaka was insanely glad that no teacher of his knew of this secret power Daichi could wield. Should Daichi somehow decide to become a teacher… he wished all future children the best of luck.

"On the same topic. Because."

Here Daichi made an even longer pause, as if trying to make sense of whatever Hinata had apparently told him.

"You both. Made too little mistakes?"

The gym was dead silent by now. It was an overall weird situation. The reason why Hinata had to take a test alone under special circumstances was a popular topic of conversation within the team since it happened. Why punish someone who obviously made an effort in learning for once? If he had cheated his way through the test, not even Hinata would have been so dumb to not let any mistake in. (You know - for credibility.)

But Kageyama too?

"Right." Hinata nodded, still undisturbed, as if nothing was wrong; as if he wasn't the closest person to the Negative Energy spreading out through the building- perhaps he was close enough to be in the eye of the storm? (Could that be the secret?!)

Daichi sighed. "Unbelievable." He considered Hinata for a moment, then shook his head (the dark aura abruptly vanished as if he had sucked it back in, keeping it safe for the next time he would need it), "I'll talk to Takeda-sensei. I don't know if it will accomplish anything, but you two shouldn't get punished for doing a good job, at the least. How long does Kageyama have to stay behind?"

"Ten more minutes. He won't take long, I'm sure."

Tanaka was just a little surprised at the lack of a salty comment from Tsukishima's corner.

~**-*_*-**~

Creating illusions?

A few months ago, Shouyou would have said no, with absolute certainty. He wasn’t ready yet, he had a feeling. He needed to be more careful with his emotions then, if he didn’t want any unwelcome surprises in the future.

The birds didn't have an answer, and quite honestly – he didn't care. He was far more invested in his gigantic project.

And Kageyama.

He loved his companions, but no matter how much he wanted to be like them, he would always be different. He wanted- something. Someone. He didn't lie to himself, he knew who he wanted. The question was, how – whatever it was – could possibly be returned in the way he wanted it to.

The raven resting on his head and all the others nearby cawed in reply to his inner turmoil. Shouyou loved just being with them. Here in the forrest, away from prying eyes of his mother, the curious gaze of his little sister, or the weird non-expectations of his father… He loved being away from all that traffic, the noise of modern civilization - just the sound of leaves rustling in the wind, a little stream running nearby, all those wild animals around him… and he had to leave all this behind to get his homework done. Homework. Such a ridiculous rule he had to comply.

Shouyou, hissed, flailing his arms around, trying to focus on his surroundings again. The startled birds now hovered over him only to alight on him again a few seconds later. This time they shared their sitting space – meaning his head, shoulders and his legs, since they deemed his cross-legged posture worthy of such activities. And thus, making him look like a simple support stature. They cooed all the while.

Shouyou let himself be groomed, and started the same process on the raven he had easiest excess to, all the while mourning his own lack of feathers.


	6. Believing

The Night was tense when it happened.

It was told that animals of all kinds could feel it. The air was heavy with excitement, the sky clear so that the stars could witness the event, and even the sea kept its waves calm in anticipation.

No one knew why Now, or why There, but at the same time they knew without question that it would happen. Some knew from the beginning, some learned about it many moons later, but all waited patiently but restless from the moment they Understood. It didn't matter how far away they were, they tried to spread the Arrival to everyone they met; some took it upon themselves to decrease the distance.

Overeager ones tried to get near before the Arrival was ready. They left gifts near its nest, they protected the momentary Guardian, they tried to show their respect and gratitude, and they Knew - the Arrival appreciated their sacrifices.

But they discovered that their attention was not welcome. The Guardian began to vehemently hinder their attempts to show their respect, making them worry for Its safety. They understood, but unfortunately not quickly enough – they were only animals after all – and as difficult as it had been to reach out before, it only got harder from then on. Instinctively, they tried to cease any unwanted attention, but the damage had already been done.

The Guardian distrusted them and rarely left its nest anymore. But they had waited a long time, so they could wait some more.

In the end, they knew, the Guardian wouldn't be able to prevent the Unavoidable. 

The Arrival took place.

The Guardian was distracted.

The Connection was made.

~**-*_*-**~

Little One was the name they gave him.

He understood without having to Learn. He talked with its eyes. Eyes that Saw.

Yet he was vulnerable. He didn't cry and forgave them the second they hurt him without meaning to. He loved it when they came to play.

Little One was loved.

(His mother didn't understand. Shouyou had felt it the first time he was held in her arms and his eyes caught hers. So he sung, tried to tell her that he understood that he was different, but he couldn't reach her. She didn't See and he only needed a few days to understand that she didn't want to. The language he needed to communicate with her didn't come to him easily. It contradicted a lot of what he already Knew.

His mother tried to keep him inside their home, tried to avoid any contact taken place between him and nature, but his father took him outside anyways, despite his wife’s unease.

When unnoticed, the crows found him easily, every time.)

~**-*_*-**~

Curious One was the name they gave him.

He learned and discovered. He could now move on its own.

He could now come to them, without waiting for its Guardian to open the cage they kept him in.

Curious One was adored.

(Everything was fascinating. He learned how to open doors and windows, how to communicate with other people and how to use their language. Step by step. Yet apparently too fast if his mother had anything to say about it. So, he started to hide.

It was difficult to tell if people found his behavior tolerable or if they didn't.)

~**-*_*-**~

Flightless One was the name they gave him.

He was angry at that name. He knew its meaning. He yearned to change it.

He understood he was Unique. He spent more time with them outside of its nest. 

Flightless One grew stronger.

(Running and jumping wasn't enough. He got frustrated when he forgot that flapping his arms didn't help. His companions as a whole agreed to comfort him with a different kind of Flight. Merging his mind with one of theirs, he could feel what they felt, could direct their bodies under his control, could soar up high and drop without falling, and yet safely remain on the ground.

His mother had long before begun to leave him alone for longer periods of time – her behavior indicated, that she was uncomfortable being near him. His father wasn't home a lot, but he adored Shouyou, not really caring about missteps. Shouyou had the feeling that instead of the distain his mother felt, his father just thought of him as a bit slow yet loved him nevertheless. Hinata never corrected him.

Staying outside with his trusted companions helped him; he felt calmer with them there. Not having to think about how to act, or how to speak… how to Be.)

~**-*_*-**~

Caring One was the name they gave him.

He went to them when he noticed their terror. He helped when he could. He protected and trusted and bestowed them with love.

Sometimes, he was sad and scared and confused, and they helped him in return. He was one of them.

Caring One was protected too.

(He knew when his companions needed help. He knew when they just wanted to play. He knew a lot, but not enough. When they got hurt, he knew when and where, but not how to fix it. But humanity had already researched every species known to them. He just borrowed their knowledge.

Entering a library was not a problem. His mother still tried to spend as less time as possible with him. It didn't matter that he tried to change and behave more Normal – he managed it almost perfectly now – perhaps it was the instinct of a mother, regardless if she wanted to be his or not – but she sensed that he was Different. She was actually glad to leave him alone, surrounded by books. Intentionally ignoring that he shouldn't be able to read.

He gained a human sister. She was lovely, small and sweet and happy. His mother tried to stir him away from her as often as she could. He didn't hold it against her. She's always been kind of cold to him. She did everything she had to do without prompting – Outside Paranoia aside – and cared for him, but around Natsu she practically glowed. He acknowledged the little sting in his heart at the obvious display of affection.)

~**-*_*-**~

Flying One was the name they gave him.

He loved that name, the first one he'd aimed to earn with intent. He loved the reason he'd earned it. He loved what it implied.

(Collecting the feathers to create his own wings was a long and tedious process. Birds of all kinds knew what he intended to do and started to bestow him with feathers of their own, taking pride in providing material he needed. A lot of it was trial and error; which feathers worked best or even at all, studying his own anatomy to figure out how many were even needed, where they were needed, learning how to sew, what material was needed to glue everything together… It was a project he needed for himself, to give himself hope.

It took him years to finish it. In the end, he didn't have to worry about the right glue at all. The moment they were ready, the moment he eagerly tied them to his back and fixed them to their right places (and what a complicated process that had been), he passed out. Waking up with real wings and tail feathers on his back, was a revelation. He didn't ask how – nothing had ever felt so right. The lights were out – his family long asleep – and clouds hid the moonlight from touching the ground, but Shouyou could feel them, could move and control them, could make them bend forwards so he could touch his new extremities – he shuddered at the new sensations.

Hiding them wasn't a problem. They simply vanished when he wanted them to. Hidden away from human eyes, still being felt, still existing and yet not.

When the sky began to slowly change colors, Shouyou was already in the woods, rushing to show them all the result. Even though he was aware that they already knew, their anticipation tickling his senses - they were just as excited as he was. Shouyou ran as far into the woods as he dared to venture, a steadily growing swarm of birds following above. He used his wings – instinctively knowing how to move them –to thrust himself forwards, to jump higher over obstacles he couldn't overcome before, not caring that the path he took was full of narrow spaces – they just passed through.

Dividing his attention from running, while simultaneously jumping from bird to bird to look through separate crows' eyes he abruptly changed direction and headed for the nearest, highest cliff he had seen. Nearing the edge, he increased his speed even more – and just as the path stopped being, jumped into empty air.

Then he used his wings exactly for what they were for.

Hovering several yards in the air – beating his powerful wings, birds flying all around him, shouting their approval, their sheer number darkening the sky – was exactly where he always wanted to be.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A day too early, but whatever! :)
> 
> I believe animals know much more about what is going on, than we think they are capable of. There's this story of a cat that visits people in the hospital, who are on their deathbed as if they are there to say good bye. I know of horses, who change their behavior and get calmer and move slower when they are in contact with little children. Dogs can recognize if their owners are in a sad mood and act accordingly.  
The empathy of animals is amazing!


	7. Revealing

Tobio's mother was currently in the process of organizing a thorough clean up, assigning tasks left and right, talking about how it had already been _long_ overdue. Grumbling but yielding, because there was nothing that could change her mind, he made his way to the attic, creating different piles of stuff after sorting through.

With a mask to shield himself from stirred-up dust and with his thoughts stubbornly going back to practice (amazing concentration _right there_), or to how he could be practicing if he didn't have to do this, he was well equipped to spend a wonderful afternoon all by himself in the attic.

Why did they still have baby clothes? Or a whole crib?! And why was there a broken kite in it? His father must have been the culprit of this mess. Tobio couldn't imagine his mother dumping all that stuff in such an irresponsible way that it practically screamed back at you and your irreverence.

Working his way through a whole dresser full of clothes from the last century, discovering a little box with obviously fake, but glittering jewellery – there was no way his family could afford gem stones this big – which he set aside (definitively not for Hinata, but who was he kidding) and scaring himself by finding a fake snake (why place it under a thrown down towel?!), he was occupied for hours.

(The snake got a spot on the Keeping pile, too.)

Digging up an old picture book wasn't exactly what he expected to find.

After a few more minutes of dragging an old blanket that must have belonged to his grand-grand-parents to the definitely-not pile (why did they even still own this?), while simultaneously knocking a guitar over (he didn't know anyone could play?!), he decided a short break wouldn't hurt anyone.

(His main thoughts throughout this whole clean out were either _Why?_ or _Did he even know his own family?_)

Tobio opened the book he had found before at random, careful of the fragile sheets in between the pages, and had to hold his breath at the sight that greeted him. That couldn't… that couldn't be real. Tobio knew it had to be, the evidence existing right there. It was just weird to process. He turned the pages, one after another, absorbing the images. When he was through, he started again, still not quite believing.

Friends.

How…? When…?

There were not many, but they were _there_. Different colored crawls beneath or above the pictures and just all over the pages, declared the events; birthday parties, day trips, lessons in elementary school, hanging out at home. Always with a group of kids at his side. In a lot of them, he was _laughing _ – it was almost as if Tobio looked at another person.

Near the end, the number of people dwindled, showing only one or two others, then finally without any at all. From then on, he was seen mostly alone, doing things he knew he was good at. Young-Tobio still smiled and looked happy in those older pictures.

Proud, his mind whispered.

_Why did that change?_

Instinctively he came up with the answer before he finished asking the question in his own head.

_I wanted to be good at the things I liked._

_Got frustrated when I couldn't continue alone and had to depend on others who didn't put any effort in it. _

_Felt disappointed when I got the chance to meet like-minded friends, only to find out that they didn't like it as much as I did. _

_Didn't give up and tried to double my efforts to balance out the skill difference. _

_Got frustrated again when it wasn't enough. _

_I drove people away while getting used to be the only one meeting my expectations. _

Tobio stared at the now closed album. _Little Tobio_ was written over the cover in lovely, curly handwriting. He couldn't name even one of those children pictured in there.

He put the book on the Maybe Keeping pile and continued his assigned task, stubbornly avoiding thinking about how he apparently had friends when he was little yet couldn't remember them. Or how he seemingly had been happy when he was little.

(_When did he unlearn to smile like that? _)

Hours later at the dining table, his mobile chimed in his pocket. Normally, mobiles during dinner were not fondly looked at, but his mother grinned at him and continued the conversation with his father, obviously satisfied with his performance that day, so he interpreted it as permission to get it out. The screen only displayed the name _Hinata _ with a little camera symbolizing a sent picture without any text. He was in the process of opening it, when another ping rang out, this time showing a text message.

_Just so you know this is my new background. _

Another ping.

_And I already made lots of copies  
So don't think about stealing my phone and deleting it（〜^∇^)〜_

With a weird feeling in his stomach, he entered his password. For a second, the picture greeted him in all its – blurred and not yet finished – loading glory. A simple click brought the picture on full screen while simultaneously showing everything as clear as the original should have been. Having spent time that day looking at his serious (_resigned_) face a few hours before, Tobio needed a moment to understand the picture.

_That couldn't be the same person._

_When was I-? _

He frantically searched his memory to find the scene that stared back at him – just from his perspective. Tried to find the feeling, he had obviously displayed in that moment. Wasn't he always told to _stop_ smiling because he looked scary? (He had tried it once in front of a mirror to know he should _never _try again in public.)

_"Hey, Kageyama, are you ticklish?"_

_"Wha- kind of question is that?! Idiot!"_

_"Ah, so you are!"_

_"I am not!"_

_"You_ so _are!"_

_"Don't! Hina- stay thERE-"_

_"Guys, your food!"_

_"Don't try Yamaguchi. It's not worth it."_

_"But…"_

__

_"AaaaaaAA- Stop- stop it-"_

__

_" Honestly, what did he expect."_

__

_"Well-"_

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_"Asking that while being the most ticklish being on the planet."_

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_"Kageyama is merciless, Tsukki."_

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_"He should be."_

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_"Kage- nnggghaaa- hii- break… BREAK-"_

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_"That's what you get!!"_

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_"NoooooooOOoo-"_

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Yachi-san must have taken the picture. It was obviously taken right around the corner their little group had had their lunch the day before. Tsukishima maliciously grinned with his head held high watching the torture unfold, while Yamaguchi had heroically saved Tobio's and Hinata's lunchboxes from their scramble, holding them above his head and out of reach. Hinata was coiled up on the ground facing the camera, his head a shade of red, due to the lack of air, and his eyes shut, his mouth open, one leg in the act of pushing Tobio away, who was in the process of tickling the hell out of his initial attacker while he-

__

Laughed.

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"Tobio?" 

__

He jerked, not expecting his mother's voice so close to his right when he had still assumed her to be sitting on the other side of the table. His eyes left the display to find hers focused on him. She couldn't see the picture from that angle.

__

"I-" Tobio stopped, not knowing what to say, what to express, too many revelations within a day, overthrowing his image of himself again and again, only just beginning to realize what that _meant _. He had always been the type to feel his emotions intensively – no matter what kind they were.

__

He tried again, but couldn't breathe, his heart hammering in his chest. It had to be short and to the point and it had to be _now _, because he _knew _ there would be no understandable words coming from him for a long time, and he didn't want to make his parents worry (he could see their worry, could see their _confusion _), to make them _more_ worried, and he quickly gave her his phone, the screen still brightly glowing, showing the picture, and-

__

"I can _laugh _, I-"

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He stopped paying attention to their reactions then, confusing himself by laughing and crying at the same time (his parents right next to him noticing every second of his hysterical break down) and not caring about that at all. He pressed his hands against his eyes (trying to hide, trying to stop?), shutting at least one sense off, but with his eyes closed, the picture showed itself in his inner eye, mixing with the emotion from the memory and created a feeling of relieve so big, Tobio didn't know what to do.

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Hands guided his head towards a shoulder to lean on – had his mother knelt down? – told him enough to know that everything would be okay. He fell forward, clinging to her, his face hidden in her neck, his mother responding in kind.

__

"Oh, Tobio," she whispered in his ear, her own voice strained, "We always knew that you can."

__

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~**-*_*-**~

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Once (or so his parents had told him), Tobio was sent to a psychotherapist. Not, because they thought something was wrong with him or because they worried about his sudden personality change, but _before _. Apparently, he was gifted. A little bit. Which essentially meant that on the one side his concentration was immense (at times), while on the other side his thoughts could, when directed at something he deemed uninteresting, cause problems.

__

So, they tried to playfully teach him how to direct this weapon of his (as his dad had always referred to it). Which was the reason why he sometimes knew too much about certain things, while not enough about something else. He told himself it wasn't a weakness, but a strength with side effects and that it was _no excuse _if he didn't know something. He would just have to try harder, and if he didn't, then he didn't, and there would be no one to blame it on but himself. (He hated when people didn't even try and started blaming the _weather _, or the _moon _– what excuse did they have, really?)

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But once his interest was caught, it had always been impossible to let go.

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And Hinata was someone he couldn't stop focussing on.

__

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~**-*_*-**~

__

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He had started noticing, not the first time he met the endless ball of energy, but the second time. After he met Hinata again, on new and neutral ground for both of them, when he had to evade bird poop for the third time in one day, when he always felt eyes watching his back, when the noise of beating wings and little squawks didn't leave him alone.

__

The feeling of _Watch him _and _Annoy him _changed as fast as they had come into being to _Watch him _and _Protect him _. Tobio felt it change the moment Tsukishima was so kind in letting everyone know about the meaning of his earned _title _, his _curse _.

__

When they were all on their way home, a sound of disgust from _someone _ reached his ears. The satisfactory feeling didn't spike to the level of finding out that there was someone waiting for him, someone trusting him, someone backing him up… but he felt that somehow, _someone _has served justice (just for him) for Tsukishima's sadistic comments from earlier.

__

The crow's cawing sounded like laughter.

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(A few minutes later, when everybody had split up for the day, and with Tsukishima wiping bird poop off his shoulder, he sought out a crow in the tree across the street. Noticing it watching, he gave it a thumbs up.)

__

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~**-*_*-**~

__

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Connecting the crows to Hinata was easy after that. He didn't mention anything to him though. 

__

Tobio'd noticed that the small but athletic boy behaved – in the simplest sense of the word – _differently _. Sometimes he used his body to speak, then stopped doing it altogether, only continuing with sound and words, as if he had to reign himself in. It was weird at first (but everything about meeting new people was weird; too much new mannerisms, new speak patterns, new _everythings _) but after a few weeks, he understood Hinata _even less_ if he skipped that weird "second" language of his.

__

The other members of the team didn't seem to notice much. Still didn't. They accepted Hinata the same way they had accepted him, grumpiness and all.

__

They discarded the dispersed feathers, the weird noises or sightings. How crows would magically appear everywhere, how they behaved depending on Hinata's mood, how Hinata's whole _being _ could change to something dangerous and predatory in a heartbeat and back again. They just- accepted it? Or ignored it?

__

He didn't mention it.

__

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~**-*_*-**~

__

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A crow started following him. It changed its behavior from flying high above and landing now and then, to a kind of flight-hopping in a few days, in which it jumped from fence to fence with a few strong beats with its wings, never letting Tobio out of its sight.

__

It evolved into a game of catch, of walking slow, spontaneously sprinting a few paces and back to walking slow again. The crow would squawk indignantly and catch up as fast as it could, would fly so low above him that it could pull at some of his hair with its beak, would let go again instantly, and would land on the nearest fence, its feathers ruffled in a show of irritation.

__

One day it just alighted on his shoulder, just resting there, enjoying the journey.

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It was the same crow, everyday, that accompanied him to school and picked him up again.

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Tobio named it Karadachi. According to the soft sound the crow had made, he must have liked it.

__

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~**-*_*-**~

__

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Hinata had begun to use less and less words when it was just them. Tobio understood what he said nevertheless. When they were outside, the number of crows surrounding them was unbelievable.

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There was that one time - they had sat together in an empty classroom to study, when there was a disagreement and they began to roughhouse a bit; as a result, an important paper was catapulted out of the window. They both watched the document slowly sinking a few floor levels to the ground. It was silent for a few minutes.

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"I'm _not_ getting that."

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"Well, I'm not either."

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They both stared at the little white spot on the ground for a little longer.

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"We still need that.", Tobio grumbled.

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"I know!"

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"So just get it back."

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"I won’t run down, while you rest and laugh at me from up here!"

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"I understood you the first time just fine", Tobio muttered, looking out the window to search for a black spot in the trees, "dumbass."

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He could feel Hinata starring at him without looking back. (What else was there to do?)

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Hinata suddenly reached for his hair, to pull softly on a black strand. Tobio didn’t wince, because it didn’t hurt, but turned towards Hinata regardless.

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"I didn't know you could _do_ subtle, Kageyama!"

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Tobio snorted and responded in pulling some of Hinata’s hair in return, "Just get the damn paper."

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A moving shadow made Tobio look to the open window, where a crow patiently perched with the paper carefully held in its beak. 

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Hinata pulled at another strand. "Already did."

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, phew- I've been insecure about this one. Because I love Kageyama so much, I had extra high expectations with myself... I didn't want Kageyama to appear weak, but I don't think he is perfect either.  
And I know he smiles plenty (I've watched the show far too much to be healthy), but never intentionally or under stress.  
When people tell you mean things, you can tell yourself that it's not a big deal, but you know that it hurts if you let yourself think about it.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
It's really cool to finally post myself! I've been on this site for years and am able to navigate with its search system like a pro - if I may say so myself - and yet... I find to have a little blackout with the tags when I'm actually doing it.
> 
> If you guys have any suggestions about what should be added, I'm all ears... or eyes :)


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